Transcript Tenix Presentation

Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
Autonomous Commercial
& Industrial Applications
- based on agents
Andrew Lucas
Agent Oriented Software Limited
AgentLink-AOS020121-publish.ppt
www.agent-software.co.uk
©Agent Oriented Software
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AgentLink Conf Jan 02
Agent Oriented Software
Group
Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
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Specialises in providing autonomous software and solutions
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JACK, the company’s core product
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USA, UK, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Canada, Hong Kong and Australia
Strategic consulting services
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Enabling framework for providing agent functionality
Customers world-wide
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Develops and markets intelligent agent products
International focus – now in USA, UK and Australia
Strategic teaming with product partners
Established 1997
Development and deployment of advanced, distributed, real-time software
solutions
R&D collaboration
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Universities & research laboratories
– in UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, Netherlands, USA and Australia
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Defence organisations in UK and Australia
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
Agent Oriented Software
Limited, UK
Cambridge Laboratory
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Collaboration with Cambridge
University
Co-located with the University’s
Institute of Manufacturing
First application of an intelligent
agent-based control system to a
robotic assembly system
Applications
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manufacturing & logistics,
telecommunications & defense
Services European customers
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
Agent Oriented Software, Inc.
USA
Applications Center, North America
 Located in Annapolis, MD
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Applications
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close to Washington, DC
telecommunications, defense, webbased service delivery
Commenced operations in July 2001
Serves the North American market
US-based customer support
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
Agent Oriented Software
Pty. Ltd., Australia
Melbourne Product Centre
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JACK development team sited
here, led by Paul Maisano
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Co-located with the University of
Melbourne’s Intelligent Agent
Laboratory
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Agent applications
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defense, telecommunications,
wireless, web-based service
delivery
Supports Japanese market
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
Agent Oriented Software
Pty. Ltd., Australia
Adelaide Applications Centre
 Co-located with the
Australian Defence
Department’s Defence
Science & Technology
Organisation (DSTO)
 Applications
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defense and
manufacturing/logistics
Documentation & Training
group, lead by Jacquie Jarvis
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Agent
Oriented
An intelligent (BDI) agent
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
Human
Beliefs - perceived
understanding
Goals or desires
of the world
Belief, Desire, Intentions Agent
Beliefs - database
of perceived
world knowledge
Goals or desires
Execution
Engine
Intentions currently executing
plans
Behaviours pre-compiled plans
Accumulated experience
and behaviours
©Agent Oriented Software
Ref. Wooldridge “Reasoning about Rational Agents”
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How Intelligent Agents
can be Applied
Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
Intelligent Assistant
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helping humans in complex environments
taking over mundane tasks
decision support
Human Surrogate
performs rational reasoning
works autonomously
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Linking & managing systems
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handling distribution and
“peer to peer” systems
integrating legacy
systems
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
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A product by Agent Oriented Software
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v 3.2 released recently
“third generation” agent system
JACK enables smart applications
Entirely written in Java
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JACK Intelligent Agents
allows access to all Java features and add-ons
Component-based approach
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provides core architecture and capability for developing & running
distributed software agents
allows for “plugins” to base agent kernel, from BDI agents to teams of
agents
©Agent Oriented Software
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JACK Component
Architecture
Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
SimpleTeam Model
BDI agent Model
view
database
plan
event
capability
agent
Application
code
Utility classes
JACK Kernel
©Agent Oriented Software
Communication
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
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Portable
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platform independent GUIs
third party libraries such as JDBC, Jini
Facilities for communications
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capable of running on any system on which Java is available
from laptops to high-end multi-CPU Enterprise servers
(available on Psion PDA)
Access to all Java capabilities, including
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Entirely in Java gives
advantages
other Java, C++ processes
Integration with external packages using standard
infrastructure, e.g., CORBA, RMI, HLA
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Multi-agency in JACK
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
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Distribution - JACK agents can be
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all concentrated in a single operating system process
scattered over a multi-platform network
any combination of the previous
Communications
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built-in support for messaging (send, reply)
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light-weight and fast
simple agent naming scheme
sending and receiving Java objects
decoupled from transport layer, with standard transport formats
including XML, binary and ASCII encoding
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
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Version 1
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“Capabilities” concept, encapsulation of behaviors
Team-based programming (SimpleTeam)
Version 3
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Commercial agent platform integrated with an OO language
Emphasis on sound software engineering and integration with
conventional code
Version 2
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Summary of advanced agent
features introduced
XML compatibility
Inference rules
Releases in 2002
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Analyst GUI environment
Inspection tools GUIs for plan writing, debugging and monitoring
– simplify the design / code / test cycle
– make the tool more accessible to domain experts
JACK Teams – enhanced team-based programming
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
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Capacity Integrator
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Using the telco’s database of elements and links
Provisions the customer’s requested service
Web-based
Ultimately
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Telecommunications provisioning system
Provisioning is the key to a telco providing
services to its customers
By Open Telecommunications
Takes a customer order
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Telecommunications
Intelligent Assistant
Customers will be able to provision services themselves
Today, Open CI is installed at
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Telstra & Optus, Australia
Williams, USA
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
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Schematic generated
y
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Web-based tandem connection editor
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
Agents in dynamic
situations
Robocup robot league 2001
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Complex task in an adversarial
environment
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Real-time domain
Interaction with robot controllers via
wireless communications
Challenging domain
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must handle unexpected opposition
behaviour
context-dependent tactics
– e.g., play aggressively when easily
winning
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
Holonic Manufacturing
Systems (HMS)
“Holonics”
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A Holon is the combination of a
physical process and and an
intelligent agent
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Holonic manufacturing systems are
autonomous and co-operative
Holons can be in teams
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A team of holons can be a group of
machines, each with a role
Orders are pro-active - Order Holons
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Negotiate with resources to “make
themselves”
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Novel view, inverts conventional
Institute of Manufacturing, Cambridge University
concept of a static “order”
 assembly cell control using a JACK Team
implementation
 combine holons with radio-based part
identification - the future of manufacturing…
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
Teams in Flexible
Manufacturing & Robotics
Task: Satisfy
customer A’s order
Key
Team
Role
Mobile phone
production team
Requires: :
Order, Assemble, Test &
pack, Collate &
dispatch
Order A
Line 1
Assemble
& test
Delivery
Order
Line holon
Collate &
dispatch
Customers A, B & C
Lines 1, 2 & 3
Specification
Pack & dispatch
Line 2
Board assembly
Test & pack
Phone assembly
©Agent Oriented Software
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Agent
Oriented
Agent Oriented Software Pty. Ltd.
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The Future of Manufacturing
Demonstrated in the Flash animation included
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run in Microsoft IE5 with Flash
©Agent Oriented Software
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